María Eugenia

María Eugenia is a 1943 Mexican drama film directed by Felipe Gregorio Castillo and starring María Félix,[1] alongside Manolita Saval and Rafael Baledón. The film's sets were designed by the art director Manuel Fontanals.[2]

María Eugenia
Directed byFelipe Gregorio Castillo
Written byFelipe Gregorio Castillo
Produced byFelipe Gregorio Castillo
StarringMaría Félix
Manolita Saval
Rafael Baledón
CinematographyVíctor Herrera
Edited byJosé W. Bustos
Music byManuel Esperón
Production
company
Clasa Films Mundiales
Release date
1 April 1943
Running time
101 minutes
CountryMexico
LanguageSpanish

Cast

Production

María Eugenia was the first film María Félix made after her film debut in El Peñón de las Ánimas.[1][3] During filming, Félix caused a stir while shooting the opening scene of the film, which featured her in a white bathing suit, attracting publicity to Félix.[1][3] It is the only film in Félix's filmography where she appeared in swimwear.[4]

It was the only film directed by Felipe Gregorio Castillo, who afterwards became a film censor.[4][5]

Reception

In his book Más allá de las lágrimas: Espacios habitables en el cine clásico de México y Argentina, Isaac León Frías collects Emilio García Riera's view of the film, calling it a "terrible melodrama."[4] The book Archivos de la Filmoteca refers to the film as a sign of how "the Mexican melodrama [was] so subject to conventions and norms" at the time, noting that the film was directed by a later film censor.[5] María Félix herself would later refer to the film in her autobiography as "a film that had no other importance than to give me experience."[6]

References
  1. Pilcher, Jeffrey M. (2003). The Human Tradition in Mexico. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 192. ISBN 0-8420-2976-1.
  2. Peralta Gilabert, Rosa (2007). Manuel Fontanals, escenógrafo: teatro, cine y exilio (in Spanish). Editorial Fundamentos. p. 336. ISBN 978-84-245-1110-4.
  3. Barajas Sandoval, Carmen (1992). Una mujer llamada María Félix: historia no autorizada (in Spanish). EDAMEX. p. 16. ISBN 968-409-673-9. Casi inmediatamente después de su primera película, María firma el contrato para la segunda que se llamó "María Eugenia" […] Con esta película se suscitó un gran escándalo que le dió a María mucha publicidad. En una escena ella aparecía en traje de baño; un traje de baño blanco […] [Almost immediately after her first film, María signed the contract for the second one, which was called "María Eugenia" […] With this film a great scandal arose that gave María a lot of publicity. In one scene she appeared in a bathing suit; a white bathing suit […]]
  4. León Frías, Isaac (2019). Más allá de las lágrimas: Espacios habitables en el cine clásico de México y Argentina (in Spanish). Fondo Editorial Universidad de Lima. pp. 323–324. ISBN 978-9972-45-486-8. Después, la actriz lució por única vez en traje de baño para María Eugenia (1943), pésimo melodrama que supuso la única experiencia en la dirección del después censor Felipe Gregorio Castillo. [Later, the actress wore for the only time a bathing suit for María Eugenia (1943), a terrible melodrama that was the only experience in direction of the later censor Felipe Gregorio Castillo.]
  5. Archivos de la Filmoteca: revista de estudios históricos sobre la imagen (in Spanish). La Filmoteca. 1999. p. 77. El melodrama mexicano está tan sometido a convenciones y normas que la segunda película de María Félix, María Eugenia, la dirige el mismísimo director de la censura, Felipe Gregorio Castillo. [The Mexican melodrama is so subject to conventions and norms that María Félix's second film, María Eugenia, is directed by the director of the censorship himself, Felipe Gregorio Castillo.]
  6. Félix, María (1993). Todas mis Guerras (in Spanish). Clío. p. 69. ISBN 968-11-0556-7. Después de mi debut en El peñón de las ánimas hice una película que no tuvo otra importancia que la de darme experiencia: María Eugenia. [After my debut in El peñón de las animas, I made a film that had no other importance than to give me experience: María Eugenia.]
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